‘We freed Patrick Stewart!’ Star Trek’s Marina Sirtis on breaking in her beloved but very serious co-star
She was scared of him but soon loosened the Shakespearean up – then watched him give Star Trek depth, even insisting scenes be rewritten for her. Captain Picard’s right-hand woman salutes her fabulous friend I’d been warned about Patrick by friends who’d worked with him at the Royal Shakespeare Company. They said: “Marina, you can’t be you around Patrick Stewart. He’s all about the work. He takes it very seriously…
Key points
- Marina Sirtis says she was initially intimidated by Patrick Stewart on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- Sirtis says the cast loosened Stewart up and that he brought depth to the franchise.
- Stewart supported Sirtis after her husband's death and had a scene rewritten for her.
Marina Sirtis, who played Counsellor Deanna Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation, has spoken about her relationship with co-star Patrick Stewart. She said she was warned by friends from the Royal Shakespeare Company that Stewart was very serious about his work and would not tolerate joking around. Sirtis admitted she was "a bit scared, a bit intimidated" when they were cast together.
Sirtis said the younger cast made a concerted effort to loosen Stewart up. She described him as a typical Englishman of his generation, with a stiff upper lip, and said early on he told the cast they were not there to have fun. But she said they did loosen him up, and that Stewart has said himself they freed him.
What Stewart brought to the show
Sirtis said Stewart brought gravitas to the role of Captain Picard. She said Star Trek had been a punchline before he came along and that he gave it depth as a Shakespearean actor playing the captain of a starship. She also said he handled fame with grace and never got too big for his boots.
Sirtis said Stewart was always on her side. In one Star Trek movie, he asked writers and producers to rewrite a scene so that Picard told a story to her character instead of Data, because he needed to look into her eyes to reach the emotions required. Sirtis said their on-screen relationship was a two-way street.
It was the absolute privilege of my life and my career to work with him.
— Marina Sirtis
Support after her husband's death
Sirtis said her husband died a month before Covid hit, and she spent a year alone in Los Angeles with only her dogs for company. She said Stewart was one of the few people who invited her over for lunch, socially distanced in his garden, after realising she was grieving and on her own.
Sirtis said it was the absolute privilege of her life and career to work with Stewart. She said they stayed in touch until the end, though it became difficult to speak to him on the phone because of his health. She said he went quickly and that she is sad she did not get to say goodbye and thank him.
